Incarnations
by WolfKael
Summary: Just a series of drabbling one-shots about the various incarnations of Link. Read A/N inside for more information. In case you haven't noticed, I rate everything 'T' because I'm paranoid. May have hints of romance, angst, and whatever else I come up with.
1. Ocarina of Time 1

**A/N: So, this is based on my feelings about the various incarnations of Link. Nothing irritates me more than someone portraying them all as the same person. Here's the basic way I view them:**

**Skyward Sword:**

**Link is a daydreamer (and therefore sometimes a little lazy) who avoids conflict as much as possible (Despite Groose always picking fights) while remaining very confident in his flying abilities. This is because he trusts in his red loftwing. He's a free-spirited soul, and starts his quest for the sole purpose of finding his best friend (and crush) Zelda. It remains his primary motive. As he completes his quest, he becomes more disciplined and responsible, and slightly more jaded than before, having seen a crueler world than the dreamlike Skyloft. As punny as it is, you could say that he pulled his head down from the clouds.**

**Ocarina of Time:**

**The defining feature of this Link is his innocent soul and naivety. As a child, he's energetic and optimistic. He's much like your average ten-year old and very childish due to his upbringing with the eternally-childlike Kokiri. He fights Gannondorf because he trusts his friend, Princess Zelda.**

**Upon growing up, he's quieter than before, as he feels displaced and unfamiliar even to himself. He is "pure in heart," and having slept for seven years, still very naive. He's gentle and soft-spoken. He's courageous but fulfills his role as hero more out of guilt than anything else, blaming himself for Gannondorf getting the triforce. Fighting against the Gerudo King is also the only thing he finds familiar to his new world.**

**Obviously, the Link from Majora's Mask is a combination of the child and adult versions of link.**

**Wind Waker:**

**The Link from Wind Waker is a goofball and prone to lazing about. He's the most rash and impulsive of the incarnations. He starts his quest in order to save his sister, but even upon her rescue, he continues for the sake of his mentor, the King of Red Lions, and the Piratical Princess, Tetra. He won't deny, however, that there's also an element of "why not?" to it.**

**Twilight Princess:**

**Link is a staple of the village, well-respected and adored by the townsfolk. He's the most serious and quietest of incarnations, as well as the most responsible and dutiful. He's willing to entertain the village children, but he enjoys sitting by a waterfront with Epona grazing nearby and fishing. In battle, he's among the fiercest (in personality, mind you. They're all excellent fighters) of all Links, with a quiet confidence and strict discipline. He doesn't ****_enjoy_**** fighting, per se, but rather finds it ****_satisfying_****. As he completes his quest, he becomes accustomed to the violence, and that bothers him a bit. However, he presses forward with grim determination to save his village and the land of Hyrule.**

**So, without further ado…here is an OOT-centered chapter.**

Drabble #1: Ocarina of Time

He trips over another rock, but manages to catch himself against the stony walls of the Castletown ruins. The ground feels so far away, his old weapons like toys in his grasp. He can't even use them anymore. The long, delicate-fingered hand splayed across the stone surface doesn't feel like his. He wouldn't believe it, if he couldn't feel it beneath his fingertips, which are forming with new callouses after seven years of disuse.

He can't go home. Not to the Kokiri forest. He's a stranger there now, seven years gone by, and only he has changed. Every time he sees his reflection, he jumps, not recognizing the sharp features that stare back.

Some color in the corner of his eye catches his attention, and he feels a sudden warmth in his chest. A small butterfly flits around, closer and closer. He raises his hand, almost as if to catch it, and it lands delicately on the stranger's hand - _his_ hand. A laugh lifts in his throat, a deeper sound than he's used to.

Hyrule will live.

Lon Lon Ranch is safe, with warm, smiling Malon. Even though she's seven years older than she used to be, he still feels comfortable in her all-accepting presence. Her stable feels more like home that Kokiri Forest now, and he finds comfort in the warm scent of hay. He startled her tonight, returning in the dead of night. She was waiting for him with a lantern – why, he can't figure out.

Girls. They do silly things.

Then again, she's not a girl anymore, is she? She's a woman. He's no longer a boy, even if her nickname for him begs to differ.

This dim realization feels as foreign as the limbs sprawled in the hay.

She'd cried, seeing the newest additions to his collection of scars. He'd been lucky to have a fairy today, the soft, red scar over his heart sensitive to the rough fabric of his tunic. The gauze she'd applied on his cheek itches, but if he scratches at it, she'll chew him through one ear and out the other.

He doesn't know why she's so uptight about it. It'll be healed up soon – just another scar, like all the rest.

Malon stares out at the pasture, where Epona grazes contentedly. Link leans against the fence, playing softly on his ocarina. He'd scared her last night, returning to the ranch – returning _home_ – covered in cuts and burns, almost falling from his saddle.

His wounds always heal faster than they should – and she'd swear his tunic repairs itself when she isn't looking.

These aren't what concern her, however.

It's his eyes. His eyes are almost the same as the day they met, large and full of wonder. Where the fairy-boy from that time was more brash and confident, he moves gently, as if unsure of himself. He doesn't speak as often as he did seven years ago. His voice is quiet and subdued, his ego kept more firmly in check.

"Miss Malon?" he asks quietly, noticing her gaze. His blue eyes are soft, but sadness glitters deep within those depths. Apologizing. It makes her grind her teeth.

"Yes, Fairy-Boy?" she smiles coyly.

"Do you think I can…for the road…?" he raises a bottle, and she smiles, taking it from his hands.

"Yeah, give me a moment."

"Wait…" he stands, several inches taller than her now, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear – along with a flower. He smiles brightly, "Perfect. Thank you, Malon, for all of your help," his touch is feather-light, as though afraid she'll break.

He has no idea, she's sure of it. She has no idea about the effect he has on her. His innocent smile tells it all – things like that…things like _romantic love_ don't even cross his mind.

He'd confided the events of the past seven years – or rather, his lack thereof – to her soon after obtaining Epona. She knows, somewhere, that there's still a ten-year-old boy in that body, fighting with the weight put on his shoulders.

She does her best to stifle her blush, "Thank you, Link," she leans on her tip-toes and pecks his cheek.

She can still tease him like she did when they were ten, right?

**A/N: I feel that I should clarify…I didn't always ship LinkxMalon, but…I read a super-cute fanfic, and I realized that the pairing makes sense. Just…Link, injured and too tired to guide his horse. Epona simply walks home – where else should she go to get help for her injured rider? That + my feelings about Link feeling alienated and displaced in time, world, and body all make Malon a better pairing. I'm not saying you have to ship them, I just wanted to explain how I find them cute. *shrug***


	2. Wind Waker 1

Drabble #2: Wind Waker

Hot fire boils in his chest, and he glares at the shadow flying away.

"Let go of me!" he snarls at the cat-eyed pirate holding his arm, "It's getting away! Aryll-!"

"She's gone!" she retorts, "You can't help her if you're dead, dummy!"

He allows himself to go limp, the fire in his chest turning into a cold weight, "But...what will I tell Granny?" She pulls him up with the assistance of her crewmate, and they walk down the hill, to the shoreline. The ice slowly burns away,

_I_ _couldn't protect her. It's all my fault_, the rage builds again, and he slams his fist into a nearby tree trunk with a curse, ignoring the stinging of his now-bleeding knuckles.

The pirate looks back at him with a single, raised eyebrow. He's disgusted with himself – even in circumstances like _these_, he can't help but notice her beauty. Her smooth skin dark from days in the sun, her silky golden hair pulled up in a bun. A few sunny strands frame her long, pointed ears – he assumes they fell loose when she fell.

_This is _not_ the time to be drooling after some woman!_ He scolds himself, _A _pirate_, no less!_

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realizes that she hasn't even _thanked_ him. His _sister_, sweet, innocent Aryll, has been carried off by a bird _she_ led here, and she hasn't commented on it at all.

He mutters something unkind under his breath and continues to follow them down the mountainside, his heart growing colder with every step. He can already see the expressions on the other villagers. They heard her screaming – he's _sure_ of it. They can probably tell by the haunted expression on his face alone.

What a crappy birthday.


End file.
